Government reveals plans to reduce NHS waiting list backlog

The government has unveiled a new pledge to cut the list of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment in England by almost half a million by next year.

The plan, to be announced Monday, will expand access to community diagnostic centers and surgical centers along with reforms designed to increase patient choice and tackle inefficiencies.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it would lead to millions more jobs and “fulfill our promise to end the backlog”.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has welcomed the plan, but there is doubt over whether it can be delivered.

The government has touted the plan as an important milestone in a broader effort to reduce the number of people waiting long periods for appointments, procedures and surgeries.

Sir Keir said: “Better choice and convenience for patients. Staff are once again able to provide the standard of care they want.”

A key Labor election pledge, now included in the government’s six main priorities, is to start treating 92% of patients or have everything cured within 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament.

This has been an official NHS target for some time, but has not been met since 2015. Currently, only 59% of patients meet the 18-week target, while three million people are waiting longer.

The latest promise is to reach 65% by March 2026, which would reduce the backlog by more than 450,000, according to the government.

A network of community diagnostic centres, which provide appointments such as scans and endoscopy in local neighbourhoods, will extend its opening hours to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

The aim is to provide treatment to patients faster, closer to home and without dependence on hospitals. Officials say these centers will provide five lakh additional placements every year.

GPs, where appropriate, will also be able to refer patients directly to these centers without the need for prior consultation with a senior doctor.

More surgical centers will be created to focus on common, less complex procedures such as cataract surgery and some orthopedic operations. These hubs are surrounded by other parts of the hospital to ensure that operating theater time is not wasted when emergency cases occur.

The new plan says one million unnecessary appointments per year will be freed up for patients who need them. This would be possible by eliminating automatic post-treatment review appointments and only providing them to patients who request them.

Officials say the additional appointments made will be in addition to promises made by Labor before the election. That pledge was to increase hiring by 40,000 per week within the first year or 2 million more per year.

This compares to a typical annual total of more than 100 million appointments. Ministers have confirmed that work on this pledge started immediately after the election.

Plans for patients to use an NHS app to monitor and book consultations and test results, with greater control over where they are treated, have already been announced. The goal is to make the system more efficient and reduce the number of missed appointments.

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said: “The radical reforms in this plan will not only allow us to deliver millions more tests, appointments and operations, but will also do things differently – boosting convenience and especially for patients. Putting more power in the hands through the NHS app.”

The total waiting list for NHS appointments, procedures and surgeries in England is just under 7.5 million.

No target level is set in the plan, but ministers say waiting lists will inevitably fall if measures to meet the 18-week benchmark come into effect.

Funding for NHS England is set for the coming year, but the additional money needed to support additional activity in hospitals will be outlined in the government’s spending review later this year.

Professor Phil Banfield, Chairman of the BMA Council, expressed doubts as to whether the plan could be delivered.

“Doctors are as frustrated as their patients with the lack of access to care and want to reduce waiting lists,” he said.

“But the reality is that without the workforce to meet ever-increasing demand, we will not see the progress we all hope for.”

Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary Ed Arger said it was the Conservatives who “revolutionized” the diagnostic process by introducing 160 community diagnostic centres.

He said the government’s plan was “another announcement that makes clear after 14 years in opposition that, despite promises of change, the Labor Party has no new ideas of its own for the NHS”.

“Patients cannot wait for any more delays and delays from a government that has made so many promises and done so little so far,” he said.

Liberal Democrat MP and health spokeswoman Helen Morgan said the waiting list plan could risk “hip replacements rather than heart attacks” unless the “crisis” in emergency and social care is addressed.